The Complete Pendomus Chronicles Trilogy: Books 1-3 of the Pendomus Chronicles Dystopian Scifi Boxed Set Series Page 12

  My pulse races, and I suck in a quick breath. The interaction appears both ridiculous and absolutely fascinating. The two of them don’t even notice as we move away.

  Kani spins around, eyes blazing, “Geezus. You can’t just gawk at people like that.”

  “I’m sorry. I just—they were …” I point behind me.

  “Yeah, so what?” she flares her nostrils, “Look, I get it. I do. But out here, you can’t just stare at everyone.”

  “Right. I’m sorry.”

  I fall in line again, but my heart pounds loudly in my ears. What’s the purpose of kissing?What would it be like—being tangled in that way? Would it be awkward? They seemed so in tune with each other. Does kissing like that come naturally? How do they breathe?

  We finally stop at the base of a set of stone steps to a moderate-size building. The doorway is a bright blue and light shines from the windows, cascading in large rectangles across the lumpy walkway.

  Kani raps her knuckles across the wood three times, and takes a step back. A moment later, a set of brown eyes peer out of a crack in the door. With an audible sigh, the door slams shut. Fenton smirks as a series of clicking sounds go on behind the door. When the door reopens all the way, the oddest-looking man I’ve ever seen steps out.

  Nearly the same height as Fenton, Landry is more muscular in build and has absolutely no hair on the top of his head. Instead, three small wavy lines of hair are shaved into both sides of his jaw, and he has the tiniest hint of a triangle under his bottom lip. Running down his neck and under his black shirt, a spiral pattern is etched into his skin.

  If I wasn’t aware Landry was on our side, I’d assume something was seriously wrong with him.

  “Ladies,” his lips flicker, making the wavy lines on his jaw flow like water.

  “Hey— ” Fenton says, pushing his brother aside, “Watch it.”

  Landry smirks and steps away from the doorway so we can follow inside.

  The main room is dark, lit only by a series of holographic screens in the back. There are two large plush chairs in the front.

  Taking a seat near the monitors, Landry cocks his head, “Runa, I presume.”

  I smile and nod, unsure of what to say.

  Landry’s laugh is deep and unexpected, “I’ve heard a lot about you the past few days.”

  My face flushes, and I fiddle with one of my braids.

  “Super,” Kani says.

  “I can see why Trae’s so enthralled,” Landry steps forward, and my eyes go to the floor.

  Trae’s what? Did I hear him right?

  “Tha’s an understatement,” Fenton says under his breath.

  “May I take a gander at your eye?” Landry asks.

  I lift my jaw to meet his inspection. He’s much older than all of us with an air of maturity about him. It seems out of place for someone who looks so peculiar.

  “Isn’t that something?” Landry’s eyes narrow, and he tilts my chin to the side.

  “Yeah, yeah. Freakin’ awesome. We need to do some research. Delaney’s on our butts about helping her, and we have other plans,” Kani taps the floor impatiently.

  “So, quakes, huh?” Landry says, starting the conversation off.

  Fenton plops himself down in one of the plush chairs, “Our exit is blocked.”

  “Blocked? With what?” Landry asks.

  “Snow. Ice. Rock. The whole thing sorta caved in after Trae shot Jane at the entrance,” Kani shifts her weight, but doesn’t take a seat, “But that’s not the worst of it …”

  “We go’ some bigger problems ou’ in them woods,” Fenton says, “First off, tha Morph ain’t tha Morph. There’s black, creepy lookin’ serpent or salamander things as big as a person and they can incinerate you if they ge’ close enough …”

  “Whoa. Huh? Slow down,” Landry says.

  “Fenton’s right. Plus, turns out Lane’s been lying about the Morph all this time. Evidently it’s some big rouse. So we have no clue what’s actually attacked Runa,” Kani says.

  Landry scratches the side of his jaw, “Okay … not surprising on Lane’s part. I’ve wondered about the Morph for a long time, since no one has ever been attacked. But the serpent? What’s up with that?”

  “We don’t know yet. My brother was just killed by one and I could use a Helix mainframe search. Are you able to get in?”

  “Damn, sorry, Runa,” Landry begins.

  “I don’t really want to talk about it. I just want to find answers. Can you do it?”

  “Sure. Easy peasy,” Landry says, turning around to face his monitors. With a few flicks of his fingertips an access point to the eLink appears. It looks just as it would in my mind when I’ve reentered from outside.

  “Okay. Who do we want to be today? Erbert Redlin or Erma Bombeck?” Landry asks.

  “Who cares?” Kani says.

  “Go wit Erma,” Fenton snickers, “Ya look like a Erma to me.”

  “Erbert it is,” Landry says, ignoring his brother.

  “Can I take it from here?” I ask, edging closer as the access is granted.

  With his thumb, Landry rubs the triangular patch under his lip, “I dunno about that. I don’t usually let other people play with the equipment.”

  “Oh.”

  “But … I s’pose I could make an exception,” Landry scoots aside, giving me access to the holographic screens.

  I flick through the prompts with my fingertips. It’s a strange sensation to use physicality for such simple tasks, where the intention in my mind was enough only days before.

  Entering in the data for Videus, I’m surprised to see a slew of information come up, but much of it doesn’t make sense. Words are out of order, whole sentences seem to be missing.

  Trae opens the door to Landry’s house and steps inside.

  “Hey everyone. Find anything so far?” he asks.

  “I’m not sure. Landry, why is so much of it jumbled up?” I ask, then point to the screen. “What’s this about an engineer?”

  “Where?” Landry peers closer, “Videus? Why are you searching for him?”

  “I’ve been told to be wary of him—and I suspect he may be the one behind the attacks,” I tell him.

  “Runa, have you ever gotten details on the engineer in charge of the mission to colonize Pendomus?” Landry asks.

  “No.” I tell him, “My downloads gave no credit to an engineer. We’ve been taught our colonization was the inspiration of many. The general cooperation of all involved, with no one standing out more than the other. Which is why we operate the way we do in the Helix.”

  Landry nods, “I suspected as much. Well, despite that theory … I stumbled on something in the Archives a while back which I found interesting. There was an engineer and based on this inquiry, I think his name may mean something to you—it was Goddard. Videus Goddard.”

  Sucking in a breath, my pulse quickens, and I stare at him. “Are you sure? Why is it not listed here? Why were we never told?”

  “Who knows? It looks like whoever’s been in here has done a good job confusing the trail. I don’t even see a last name attached to— ”

  Whole sections of data suddenly start erasing in front of our eyes until the entire list of results is gone and we’re left staring at a blank holographic screen.

  “Quick—log out of the system,” Landry reaches around me, flicking commands until the Helix encrypted eLink is gone, “That was close.”

  “What just happened?” I ask.

  “Someone caught on ta tha search and apparen’ly didn’t like it,” Fenton responds, adjusting his glasses.

  “There’s clearly something up with this. Why don’t you guys go to the Archives and search for yourselves? The system out there is primitive, but as far as I’ve been able to tell, it isn’t linked to the Helix in any way. The data should be more secure, maybe even more intact. If someone out there’s using the founding engineer’s name to wreak havoc, understanding his namesake would be a good place to start. Means he’s an i
nspiration of some sort. Fenton, you remember where the old mainframe is, right?” Landry asks.

  Fenton nods, “Sure.”

  “I’ll stick behind here and see what else I can dig up. Fenton, let’s hook you up with a ComLink so we can stay in touch. Sound good?”

  “Yup. Works fer me,” Fenton agrees.

  “Good. Before you’re off, I think you should at least eat and rest first, though. It’s getting late, and I bet you’re not used to the sleep stuff yet, are you Runa?”

  “We can camp out in the tunnels, Landry. I’d rather not waste more time than we have to,” Trae says.

  Kani walks to the kitchen table and takes a seat. “I will, however, never pass on your cooking.”

  Landry chuckles and whispers, “Don’t say that too loudly around Fenton.”

  “Too late. I already ’eard.” Fenton says, sticking out his tongue at the two of them.

  13

  Runa

  LANDRY HANDS FENTON A SMALL, clear device the size of a thin wire, but arched in a semi-circle.

  I lean in for a better look and ask, “What is that?”

  “ComLink. I pu’ this behind one of me ears and it’ll bind with me skin, givin’ Landry a feed to vitals and direct communication. Kinda like tha eLink. Unfortunately, ya got tha eLink already in yer ’ead, so they’d short circuit. Which is why I’m tha lucky one,” Fenton says.

  “Wow,” I say, impressed, “Can you tap into the visuals, like the Helix does, or does this operate on word communication only?”

  “My ComLink can do visuals, too, but sometimes they can be too intrusive. Especially when you need your own sight. The software will only trigger a visual response if you specifically request it,” Landry says, “Personally, I think whoever invented the eLink shoulda considered this stuff more.”

  “Everyone ready?” Traeton asks, placing his washed plate and silverware into the drainer. “Thanks for the dinner, Landry. Much appreciated.”

  “Eh. It was nothing,” Landry says, shrugging, “Do you guys have everything you need?”

  “Seems like we do,” Trae says, “Fenton, you got the sleep packs?”

  “Sure do,” Fenton beams. His grin is broad as he turns to me and winks. “We’ll getcha used ta this sleepin’ stuff yet, Runa.”

  “Are the Archives really so far that we’ll need to sleep again?”

  “They’re far enough that we’ll need to rest before we get there, yeah, ” Kani says, throwing some more supplies into her pack. “You should grab some water, too, Runa. You’ll need something to drink.”

  Nodding in agreement, I fill a couple canisters with water and place them in the pack Landry’s letting me use. The sound of the water reminds me of the first time I heard the voice in my head. Even now I can’t quite figure out what to make of everything. If I hadn’t just watched Baxten—I’d be seriously questioning my sanity right now. But everyone else saw it too. As it is, I still haven’t come up with a good way of explaining all that’s happening to me. What if my friends reject me because of the voice? Could I do this all on my own?

  Trae walks to the door and holds it open, “Alright, let’s get moving. I’d like to be outta here before anyone has time to question where we are.”

  Kani pats him on the shoulder as she walks out the door and says, “Running from Lane, huh?”

  “No,” He says, his eyes shifting from Kani to me.

  “Don’ worry, Trae. Yer secret’s safe wit us,” Fenton says, laughing, “See ya, bro.”

  “Careful out there, guys,” Landry calls out to us as we all exit the building.

  Trae leads us through the crowded streets, keeping his head low and a hood up. No one says anything, we all just follow along and try to keep up. We exit the city walls through a tiny side door meant for a person the size of a small child. A pathway winds away, leading into the black abyss on the furthest part of the large cavern opening which houses the Lateral. Staring into the depths, my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness as Trae flips on a microlight and puts it in ambient mode. The wide open space surrounding the Lateral is easily five times its size, but most is unusable. Gigantic mounds poke up all over, and massive spikes cling to the ceiling.

  After an hour of silence and walking in darkness, my mind is screaming for stimulation.

  “How much farther are we walking?” I ask, tapping Kani on the shoulder.

  “Are you two?” she says, batting my hand away without even looking back.

  “I thought there was supposed to be a pathway leading up and out of here?”

  “Soon,” she says, “We’re all getting bored, okay?”

  “Pathway’s up ahead,” Trae says, pointing the microlight at a specific spot on the rocky wall.

  “Finally,” Kani says, maneuvering closer to the wall.

  As we get nearer, I pull up short and point to the tiny ledge-like pathway in front of us. “You don’t mean—that? It can’t be more than a meter wide.”

  My eyes drift upward.

  With no end in sight.

  “This is it,” Kani says, her teeth sparkling brightly, “Our only way out now.”

  “You’re not serious,” I mutter.

  “It’s not as bad as it seems, Runa. Stick by me. I’ll help guide you,” Trae says, offering his hand.

  Kani’s grin widens, and I clench my jaw, taking Trae’s hand.

  “This is a piece of cake. Just don’t look down. Keep your back against the cavern wall. Okay?” he says, squeezing my hand in his.

  “Okay.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  I place a tentative footstep on the ledge and clutch the wall for balance.

  “How’s that gimpy leg of yours holding up? Kinda looking shaky from here,” Kani says.

  “It’s fine.”

  My vision blurs in and out, and I wish more than I anything to burrow through the wall. Shadows below appear like sinister spikes of death and do little to help with depth perception. The weird orbs of light dance around in the open space of the cavern, making it hard to see anything else.

  For a while, our jagged breathing and footsteps keep track of time. Sweat drips down my neck, but I can’t bring myself to attempt wiping it away. Instead, it pools in the small of my back as we continue to shuffle farther and farther from the safety of the ground.

  Without warning, something large and fast moves in my peripheral. It undulates in the darkness, rippling the rock. My muscles clench as I quickly twist to my right to get a better view. Unable to stop the momentum, my footing falters and I lurch forward into the black abyss.

  Hands wrap around my forearm and the back of my NanoTech jacket, and I’m wrenched back onto the pathway. As I slam against the wall, a series of rocks crash to the ground below, echoing loudly as final punctuation to one possible end.

  Exhaling terror, my eyelids slam shut and my legs give out. My back scrapes along the rocks as I sit straight down on the safe, hard pathway. Thrumming loudly in my ears, my heart could take off and fly.

  “Are you okay, Runa?” Trae asks, his voice quivering.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Kani says, slapping my shoulder.

  I swallow hard and stare into the vast expanse ahead.

  That was close.

  “Ya just abou’ took a nose dive,” Fenton says.

  “Did you see it?” I ask, “The movement?”

  “The only thing moving was us as we scrambled to pull you back,” Kani says.

  Trae takes a seat next to me and says, “Sometimes your eyes can play tricks on you in this kind of darkness. It’s not uncommon.”

  I nod, but can’t muster the strength to move.

  “Do you think everyone in the Lateral heard?” I ask.

  The dimly lit circle in the distance is so far away now, but the reverberations from the rocks falling continue to bounce around us.

  Fenton tilts his head to the side and places a fingertip to his lips in a silent request.

  “Landry,” Tra
e mouths at me.

  I sigh. Of course. The ComLink.

  “Yep. Landry jus’ confirmed yer theory, Runa. He wanted to know if we’re alrigh’. I let ’em know ya tried ta take a swan dive, bu’ we talked ya back,” Fenton says, smirking.

  “Great.” I say, dusting myself off, “Well, I think I’ve wasted enough of our time.”

  Trae stands, holding his hand out for me. My legs are wobbly as I’m wrenched to my feet, but gain stability as we begin walking again. I hug the cavern wall, keeping my sight ahead to where the microLight shines.

  “We’re nearly done with this part. Hang on just a little longer, Runa,” Trae says as he glances over his shoulder.

  When we reach the end of the ledge and the start to the enclosure of the new tunnel, the space wraps around me in a delightful embrace. I run my hand along the walls, taking in the safety through my palms.

  “I think this is good place to stop. We should get a couple hours of sleep before setting off on the last leg of the trip,” Trae says, taking his pack off and setting it on the ground in front of him. He bends down, pulling out a lamp that expands outward and turns itself on. The light accentuates all the crevasses in the natural rock around us.

  “So which one o’ ya lovely ladies wants ta sleep in my pack?” Fenton says, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. He grins widely at Kani, sweeping his hand out in front of the two sleep packs on the ground. Kani steps forward and playfully slaps him across the arm.

  “As if you ever had a choice,” she says.

  My mouth drops open.

  “Fenton,” Trae starts, “Why are there only two sleep packs? I thought you said you grabbed them all?”

  “Wha’ do I look like? A mule? I grabbed as many as I though’ we’d need,” Fenton says, a smirk deepening across his features.

  “Unbelievable,” Trae mutters, running his hand absently through his hair, “Okay, it’s settled, then. Runa, you take the extra pack. I can sleep without one.”

  “Wha’ fun is tha’?” Fenton says.

  Kani grabs the first sleep pack, unrolls it and slides inside, “Well, what are you waiting for? Get in,” Kani says, patting the outside of the fabric.